South Circular Road man found guilty of running brothel

A 31 year old man has pleaded guilty in court to running a brothel on the South Circular Road in Dublin.

The man, named locally as Di Wei, was convicted on 24 February.

Initially Di Wei admitted to purchasing condoms for the women residing in the house but upon further investigation it was revealed that he was in fact aware that the apartment was being used for prostitution.

Evidence was provided in court by six men who had attended the brothel and had availed of services provided by the women there.

Sums of money were passed from Di Wei’s bank account to a company called E-Designer who run an escort website in Ireland. This was presented in court and used as evidence.

The accused was also present during a Garda raid of the property in April of 2011.

During the court case, the judge referred to the incident as “a very, very demeaning and exploitative crime”.

Gerardine Rolley from ‘Ruhama’, a non-governmental organisation to help women involved in prostitution, says that “Ruhama welcomes the words of the judge”.

Rolley also expressed doubt towards the Gardaí’s ability to handle such a severe situation, saying: “Are there resources in the Gardaí to tackle issues relating to prostitution?”

The Ruhama representative also said that the women who are involved in prostitution are vulnerable as they may be “women coming from poverty”.

Gardai were unable to comment on the conviction at the time of going to print.